Father and Son
by Bakageta Koto
Summary: Garrus Vakarian knows he isn't a very good turian, but that didn't stop him from trying to please his father when he was younger. A study of the relationship between father and son, beginning in Garrus's childhood and spanning the timeline of both games.
1. Age 7

Disclaimer: Bioware owns all. It's true. *nods* I just fill in their blanks.

- - - - - Father and Son - - - - -

- - - - - Chapter 1 : Age 7 - - - - -

He giggled, rolling in the surf as each new wave washed over him. His clothes were sopping, but he didn't care. A child's joyful bliss of existence. The sand was rough on his still-soft plating. When he became an adult, his plates would harden and he wouldn't be able to feel the sand anymore. But that did not matter to him. He lived in the moment, for the joy of the now. The young turian stood, loving the feel of the waves tugging at his legs. He struck at each wave with his favorite stick he always kept, playing a game with himself, awarding himself points for hitting each wave.

"Garrus...Garrus!"

The sound of his name made him forget his game and turn back to the beach, finding a young female turain racing down the beach toward him. His tongue flicked against his sharp teeth. Sneak attack. He dropped to one knee in the surf, end of the stick on his right shoulder, holding it in the way he had seen his father hold a sniper rifle.

"Choom!" he yelled, his shoulder rolling with the "rifle's" kick, "Got you, Audacia!"

She slid to a stop in front of him, sand clouding. "That's not fair!" Audacia growled squeakily, "We weren't even playing, and I'm serious!" Her hands were on her small hips, mandibles flaring, and her amber eyes glinted angrily, "You know that asari girl we were playing with yesterday? Kri'la?"

"Huh? Yeah?" Garrus's grin faded and his earlier happiness was beginning to ebb away, slowly realizing that something was wrong, "What about her?"

"Those bullies are picking on her again! I saw!"

"But, I told them to leave her alone!"

"Well, I guess they didn't listen, huh?"

"Where'd you see them, Audacia?"

"A little back that way, on the road to town." she pointed a talon the way she had come, "Come on, they might really hurt her, but I didn't think I could stand up to them just me."

Garrus joined his friend, running side by side along the beach. Though they were still just children, both possessed the beginnings of the legendary turian speed that could have allowed them to easily outdistance any other sentient species in a race on land. It was only a few moments before they rounded one of the shore cliffs along the beach and found a group of young turian males crowded around an asari girl. She had obviously been pushed down, and a shallow scratch on her forehead was beginning to bleed. Little Kri'la fought back tears as her tormenters continued to tease her.

"Blue freak!"

"Go back to where you came from, alien!"

"Hey, look! It's Vakarian!" One of them called, "You gonna try and help the freak, hero?"

"I told you to leave her alone!" Garrus growled. Even though he was a child and his voice hadn't begun to develop the flanging effect of an adult, his words had a sharp edge to them that caused the other Turians to turn and size Garrus for a fight.

"Why should we listen to you, alien-lover?"

"Watcha gonna do, Vakarian? Take all of us on? Didn't nobody ever teach you how to count? There's five of us against you and your girlfriend."

"You gotta be crazy."

"Go kiss an alien, Vakarian."

The last turian boy aimed a shove at Garrus's chest. The stick hit the sand, forgotten. Time seemed to slow down. He was gone before the other boy's hand reached him. Crouching catlike in the sand, Garrus hooked his leg spur around his attacker's ankle, tripping him. Another turian boy made a grab for him, only to meet Garrus's fist against his mandible.

* * *

"You _attacked_ fellow turians! Not only that, but two boys younger than yourself, one of whom happens to be the son of a Primarch! Do you have any idea how serious this is, Garrus?! People are going to think your mother and I aren't raising you properly!"

Vakarian Sr. glared at his son, vibrant green eyes flashing in anger. Garrus said nothing, only edging farther behind his mother's leg, his mandibles twitched in discomfort, and he avoided his father's eyes.

"Dearest..." Garrus's mother pleaded gently, holding a hand out to her husband, "Garrus was doing what he thought was right. You know very well that those boys were tormenting the asari diplomat's daughter. Garrus was trying to defend his frie-"

"Enough, woman! I won't be second-guessed in my own home! Your attitude toward all of this is going to ruin our son! A turian should never attack another! It goes against the civic duty and tier system that is the heart of our very society!"

He stormed off, snarling and muttering to himself as he went. Garrus's mother breathed something between a sigh of frustration and one of relief. She knelt beside her son and pulled him close in a hug.

"It's alright, little one. _I'm_ proud of you for helping Kri'la."

Garrus nuzzled his head under his mother's chin, against the softer skin of her neck, the same way he had done since he was very small. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't.

"Why is father so angry...? Did I do the wrong thing?"

"No, my Garrus. You did a good thing. But, your father doesn't like the way you did it. He wants the best for you, little one. He just doesn't know how to show you in a way you can understand."

The young turian wrapped his arms around his mother's shoulders.

"I love you."

And he began to cry.

- - - - - Chapter 1 : Age 7 : End - - - - -

**A/N: **Oh my goodness, this chapter was such a joy to write! I loved discovering Garrus as a child, and working out his father's reasonings. Honestly, I wanted to pick Garrus up and hug him tight! X3 (His mom did it for me, though.)

Another thing: In my mind, I estimated the asari girl to be about ten years old. To the asari, that would be a very small child.

Garrus's father didn't feature very much in this first chapter. Think of it more as a small introduction to their relationship, and please look forward to future chapters. (The thought of watching little Garrus grow into the Garrus we know and love makes me very happy. I'm really looking forward to exploring his relationship with his father.)

(Yes, I deliberately left "I love you" ambiguous as to which one of them said it.)

As always, any comments left are always read and greatly appreciated! =3


	2. Age 15

Disclaimer: Bioware owns Garrus... Lucky schmucks... I wonder if they'd consider selling him to me? (As if I had money.)

**A/N: **Wow! I definitely want to start out my author note thanking all the wonderful people who have read, faved, subscribed, and/or reviewed my work. ^^ It makes me incredibly happy, knowing that something I did can be enjoyed by so many people! Thank you, all of you! I'd love to give all of you something in return, but I suppose the only thing I can really give is my own hard work on the fics I write. So, you, sitting there in front of your computer reading this? Yeah. This one's for you. =3 Thank you!

- - - - - Father and Son - - - - -

- - - - - Chapter 2 : Age 15 - - - - -

The young turian stepped off the military transport onto the hot Palaven sand. He had grown a great deal since leaving for basic training. It was strange to be home. Overall, it was good thing, but there was a hollow echo in his return. It seemed none of his peers felt that way, however. They followed him out of the military transport, calling to the families that waited for them on the beach.

Garrus called to no one, but his gaze was focused on an older turian waiting on the beach. The bits of clear blue sky that had entered his eyes at his birth had been replaced with shards of ice and glass instead. Even though he was still young, he was a child no longer. The simple joy of being alive had turned dim in his heart.

Vakarian Sr. watched impassively as his son made his way toward him. Families crowded around them, each group reuniting with their own son or daughter, celebrating and praising the graduates. Laughter and happy chattering dimly registered in his mind, but he paid it no mind. Between he and his son, there was only silence.

Garrus stood before his father and saluted. Vakarian Sr. couldn't help but size up his son. Garrus's height almost matched his own now, but his gait and manner of holding himself betrayed his youth. His eyes, sharper and colder than his mother's, but they were still the same color as her's. His plating also resembled his mother's, as did his face. Vakarian Sr. also noted the standard-issue sniper rifle and pistol now in his son's possession. So, he had taken after his old man in at least one way.

"Congratulations, Garrus. You've finally earned your citizenship as a turian."

"Thank you, father."

Silence between the two of them. They were cut off from the laughing, happy families around them as if they were in a completely separate universe. Words that could be said hovered around them like mist. They had only to decide to say them.

_I'm proud of you, Garrus. Your mother would also have been proud of you, had she lived to see this day._

_Thank you, father. I miss her so much._

_As do I, my son. But, we can rejoice in her memory, can we not?_

The words went unsaid. Silence prevailed. Though she had been weak, she had been the only bridge between the two of them. Her absence made itself known to the two of them, different to each.

* * *

His father's talon grazed lightly over his cheek. Garrus kept his eyes closed, breathing calm. This was his initiation and recognition as an adult. A full turian.

A wondering flickered briefly through his mind. Audacia. How would her parents perform this ceremony for her? She would be praised lovingly, to be sure. Her mother would make Audacia's favorite meal, all of them would eat it together, and her parents would tell stories of their own basic training. Laughing, happy, warm. Like the families on the beach had been. But, she had moved to one of the colonies, and their friendship had faded with the distance. He pushed the thought from his head. Things would never be that way for him. He had to learn to accept it.

Talon on his mandible now, tracing the forms of the markings he knew so well. As a child, he had run his talon over the ones on his mother's face, memorizing the shapes. His favorite color. A beautiful blue. He had told her that once. She had laughed and replied that the blue of his eyes was much better.

A final touch high at the bridge of his nose, and Garrus felt that his father had finished. He opened his eyes, finding a strange expression on his father's face. Regret? Longing? But, it had vanished before he could identify it.

"Don't touch your new markings for a few days. After that, you can wash them off. The stain will have set in by then."

He studied his son without expression.

"It's good to see you finally looking like a proper turian."

- - - - - Chapter 2 : Age 15 : End - - - - -

**A/N: **I know... it was a big jump in his age... I wanted to keep Garrus as a little kid for a bit longer, but, as all children must, he grew up before I really wanted him to. *sigh* Garrus lost a lot of his simple happiness when his mother died. Losing her made him grow up a great deal. Don't worry, though. Garrus won't stay unhappy forever. It's simply not built into his personality. ^^ (This fic has been from Garrus's point of view for the majority, so either with the next chapter of the chapter after that one, I'm aiming to see things through Vakarian Sr.'s eyes more.)

I'm sorry it's a short chapter, but I feel that it's exactly the length it needed to be to communicate its message.

By the way, if you're curious, I'm taking the majority of my information on Palaven, turians, and Garrus from the Mass Effect Wiki. Feel fee to check my facts!

If you so wish, please drop a note to let me know what you think of this fic? Feedback is extremely important to me! =3


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